Kenseth loses 50 points in penalty for illegal engine at Kansas

NASCAR handed down severe penalties to Matt Kenseth's No. 20 team in the Sprint Cup Series on Wednesday for failing post-race engine inspection following last Sunday's event at Kansas Speedway.

Kenseth, who won the 400-mile race at Kansas, was penalized with a loss of 50
points. His crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, has been fined $200,000, suspended
from NASCAR competition for six points-paying races, as well as next month's
all-star event (non-points), and placed on probation until Dec. 31. Car owner
Joe Gibbs was docked 50 points as well.

Furthermore, Kenseth's win at Kansas will not earn him bonus points toward
eligibility and seeding for this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
A driver who qualifies for the Chase is awarded three bonus points for each of
his or her wins during the 26-race regular season. Those bonus points are
added to the accumulated aggregate driver points total (2,000) following the
conclusion of the Sept. 7 event at Richmond International Raceway. Kenseth's
win at Kansas is also not credited towards the eligibility for a driver wild
card position in the playoffs.

Kenseth's pole win last Friday at Kansas will not be allowed for eligibility
into the 2014 Sprint Unlimited (preseason, non-points race) at Daytona
International Speedway. It was his first pole victory of the season.

Also included in the penalty is the owner's license for the No. 20 car being
suspended until the completion of the next six point races, making the team
ineligible to receive championship car owner points during that period of
time. A loss of five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Championship points
has been assessed to the team as well.

According to a news release from NASCAR, "The No. 20 car was found to have
violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any
determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event
does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-5.5.3 (E) (Only magnetic steel
connecting rods with a minimum weight of 525.0 grams will be permitted;
connecting rod failed to meet the minimum connecting rod weight) of the 2013
rule book."

There were multiple reports on Wednesday morning of the engine in Kenseth's
No. 20 Toyota failing inspection after the Kansas race.

ESPN.com reported the violation was discovered during a secondary post-race
inspection, which was conducted at NASCAR's Research and Development Center in
Concord, N.C. Kenseth's car passed the initial inspection, but NASCAR took his
engine back to its R&D center for further evaluation. Following an event, the
sanctioning body normally takes the winning car and randomly chooses another
car for additional inspection in Concord.

The Associated Press also reported the engine in Kenseth's car failed during
inspection at the R&D center, noting one of the eight connecting rods did not
meet the minimum weight requirement.

Toyota Racing Development is the engine supplier for JGR's Sprint Cup and
Nationwide teams. TRD President Lee White said one of the connecting rods on
Kenseth's engine weighed in approximately three grams under the legal minimum
weight of 525 grams when NASCAR did a routine post-race tear down of Kenseth's
car and engine in Concord. None of the other seven connecting rods were found
to be under the minimum weight.

"We take full responsibility for this issue with the engine used by the No. 20
Joe Gibbs Racing team this past Sunday in Kansas," White said in a statement.
"JGR is not involved in the process of selecting parts or assembling the Cup
Series engines. It was a simple oversight on TRD's part and there was no
intent to deceive, or to gain any type of competitive advantage.

"Toyota is a company that was built on integrity, and that remains one of the
guiding principles of the company. The goal of TRD has always been -- and
will continue to be -- to build high-performance engines that are reliable,
durable and powerful, and within the guidelines established by NASCAR."

Officials from JGR said they will appeal the penalty. That will allow Ratcliff
to participate in this weekend's race at Richmond.

"It is our understanding that one of the eight connecting rods on the engine
was ruled too light," JGR officials said in a statement. "We are working with
our partners at TRD on this issue. In the meantime, we will plan to appeal the
penalty."

Kenseth's loss of 50 points dropped him from eighth in the point standings
(-59 behind leader Jimmie Johnson) to 14th (-109). The 2003 series champion is
in his first year with JGR after spending 13 full seasons with Roush Fenway
Racing. His first victory this season came on March 10 at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway.

The penalty for Kenseth's team comes one week after NASCAR handed down stiff
penalties to Penske Racing's No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) and No. 22 (Joey Logano)
teams for unapproved suspension systems and components found on their cars
during pre-race inspection on April 13 at Texas Motor Speedway. The penalties
included a loss of 25 points for both Keselowski and Logano and six-race
suspensions for seven team members. Penske is appealing the penalties, and the
hearing has been scheduled for May 1.

The last time NASCAR came down hard on a Sprint Cup team for an engine
violation occurred in May 2009 when officials discovered that Carl Long had an
illegal engine in his car during the all-star race weekend at Charlotte Motor
Speedway. NASCAR claimed his motor "exceeded the maximum engine size of 358-
cubic inch displacement." Long received a 12-race suspension and docked 200
points (under the old points system). His crew chief was fined a then record
$200,000.